Method for monitoring the gut microbiome status in broiler production

Abstract

The invention pertains to a method for controlling a process of broiler production, the method comprising monitoring the level of the cpa gone in pooled fecal sample material deriving from the broiler flock to be tested at consecutive points in time, wherein a reduction of the cpa level in the pooled fecal sample material over time is an indication of optimal broiler development within the production process with regard to their gut microbiome status.

1 - 6 . (canceled) 
     
     
         7 . A method for controlling broiler production, comprising:
 monitoring the level of a cpa gene of  C. perfringens  in pooled fecal sample material derived from a broiler flock at consecutive points in time;   wherein a reduction of the cpa level in the pooled fecal sample material over time is an indication of optimal broiler development within the production method with regard to gut microbiome status and wherein the cpa gene contained in the pooled sample is quantified via PCR.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the pooled fecal sample material is collected and analyzed on a weekly, daily or hourly basis. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the pooled fecal sample material is collected and analyzed on a daily basis starting from day 10. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the pooled fecal sample material has a mass of between 0.2 and 10 g. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein sample size is calculated using the formula: 
       
         
           
             
               
                 n 
                 0 
               
               = 
               
                 
                   
                     Z 
                     2 
                   
                   ⁢ 
                   pq 
                 
                 
                   e 
                   2 
                 
               
             
           
         
         wherein: 
         n 0  is the sample size recommendation; 
         Z is 1.96 for 95% confidence level; 
         p is the estimated portion of the population with the attribute in question q is 1-p; and 
         e is the confidence interval expressed as decimal. 
       
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the cpa gene in the pooled fecal sample material is quantified via qPCR. 
     
     
         13 . A method for controlling broiler production, the method comprising:
 a) monitoring the level of a cpa gene of  C. perfringens  in pooled fecal sample material derived from a broiler flock at consecutive points in time;
 wherein a reduction of the cpa level in the pooled fecal sample material over time is an indication of optimal broiler development within the production method with regard to gut microbiome status and wherein the cpa marker gene contained in the pooled sample is quantified via PCR; 
   b) treating a broiler flock that does not exhibit a reduction in cpa level in step a) by administering a therapeutic agent for  C. perfringens  infection or a zootechnical feed additive.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein a sub-optimal process is characterized by a continuous increase of the cpa level over time. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein a sub-optimal process is characterized by an increase of over a 5 log(cpa copies)/gram feces. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the pooled fecal sample material is collected and analyzed on a weekly, daily or hourly basis. 
     
     
         17 . The method according to  claim 16 , wherein the pooled fecal sample material is collected and analyzed on a daily basis starting from day 10. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the pooled fecal sample material has a mass of between 0.2 and 10 g. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein sample size is calculated using the formula: 
       
         
           
             
               
                 n 
                 0 
               
               = 
               
                 
                   
                     Z 
                     2 
                   
                   ⁢ 
                   pq 
                 
                 
                   e 
                   2 
                 
               
             
           
         
         wherein: 
         n 0  is the sample size recommendation; 
         Z is 1.96 for 95% confidence level; 
         p is the estimated portion of the population with the attribute in question q is 1-p; and 
         e is the confidence interval expressed as decimal. 
       
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the cpa marker gene contained in the pooled fecal sample material is quantified via qPCR. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the pooled fecal sample material has a mass of between 0.5 and 5 g. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the sample size is calculated using the formula: 
       
         
           
             
               
                 n 
                 0 
               
               = 
               
                 
                   
                     Z 
                     2 
                   
                   ⁢ 
                   pq 
                 
                 
                   e 
                   2 
                 
               
             
           
         
         wherein: 
         n 0  is the sample size recommendation; 
         Z is 1.96 for 95% confidence level; 
         p is the estimated portion of the population with the attribute in question q is 1-p; and 
         e is the confidence interval expressed as decimal. 
       
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the cpa gene in the pooled fecal sample material is quantified via qPCR. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the pooled fecal sample material is collected and analyzed on a weekly, daily or hourly basis. 
     
     
         25 . The method according to  claim 24 , wherein the pooled fecal sample material is collected and analyzed on a daily basis starting from day 10. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein, in step b), a broiler flock that does not exhibit a reduction in the cpa level as determined in step a) is treated by administering a zootechnical feed additive selected from the group consisting of: a digestibility enhancer; a gut flora stabilizer; and a combination thereof.